About

Dynamic Strides Therapy

Dynamic Strides Therapy (DST) is the one place where children with special needs can experience the therapeutic benefits of equine movement, a unique sensory gym and the compassionate support of skilled, certified therapists.

DST is dedicated to one goal: delivering transformational outcomes for every child.

Child and Family

For the child and family, DST offers appropriate and specific therapy that can ultimately lead to life-changing results. Our down-to-earth therapists use hippotherapy, the sensory gym and the therapy clinic’s resources seamlessly to achieve extraordinary results.

Hippotherapy

In rhythm with the horse, hippotherapy provides a child with a sense of connection; they can gain new self-confidence and experience various functional benefits.

Sensory Gym

In our sensory gym, kids can address sensory processing, as well as physical and cognitive skills in a stress-free environment to help them reach their full potential.

Opening Doors

DST opens doors, literally and figuratively. Over time, the total experience is transformational, benefitting both child and family.

Mission

Empowering children to achieve their maximum potential by providing accessibility to skilled therapy services in an integrated environment.

Vision

We envision a world where specialized pediatric therapy provides – For every child, a life changed. For every family, hope.

Core Values

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COMMITMENT

We are committed to changing the lives of our patients.

ADVOCACY

With every child’s best interest in mind, we will find a way to support his or her needs, every step of the way.

COMPASSION

We have a sincere desire to help our patients reach their maximum potential.

SERVICE-ORIENTED

Our service-oriented team is driven by a passion to provide the best quality care.

INTEGRITY

We will always do the right thing for our patients and our community.

EVIDENCE-BASED THERAPY

We integrate clinical expertise with scientific evidence to provide high quality services.

FAMILY-CENTERED

We include and empower the patient’s family regarding decisions involving the child.

EDUCATION/RESEARCH

We are committed to educating our therapists, our patients, families and our community.

Our DST Team

Brandi O’Reilly, DPT Founder and Board President
Jennifer Garner, DPT Physical Therapist and Clinic Manager
Barbara Joyce Equine Professional

Jessica Ellis MHS, CCC-SLP

Meet Our Board of Directors

Brandi O’Reilly, DPT Founder and Board President
Jennifer Garner, DPT Physical Therapist and Clinic Manager
Mark Rader Secretary
Reed Hopper Treasurer
Ryan O’Reilly Board Vice-President

Elizabeth Obrey Board Member
Brenda Wake, PTA Board Member
Elizabeth Nelson Board Member

Meet Our Extraordinary Horses

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash, the pony in black, joined our team of therapy horses In December 2017. He is a cute little guy, and is very friendly and curious about everything that is going on at Dynamic Strides Therapy! Johnny has willingly done everything we have asked in his training sessions. He is the youngest member of our therapy horse team, and we look forward to many years of working with Johnny to help our young patients meet their therapy goals!

Lil Max

Max, who came to us from a therapeutic riding program in Texas, is one of the sweetest, most tolerant ponies you will ever meet. He is one of the older ponies, and doesn’t get overly excited or worked up about anything. Laid-back Lil Max is a great babysitter for young children who have never been around a horse.

Pete

Pete the pony has provided lots of joyful rides at Dynamic Strides. He was Dynamic Strides’ first pony, performing in our program from day one! Pete is the perfect size for our younger riders.

Peaches

Sweet little Peaches joined our program in the summer of 2017. She loves everyone she meets, and we just know our kids will love her too!! She is the perfect size for small and medium sized riders.

Freckles

Freckles is a sweet-natured POA (Pony of the Americas) who is willing to do just about anything we ask. He’s been a therapy pony with Dynamic Strides for many years. The kids get a real kick out of riding him and rewarding him with treats.

CoCo

CoCo is a little brown-and-white Paint─but don’t tell him he’s little. He has tons of spunk and loves his riders.

Boots

This beautiful 11year-old gelding is a joy to work with, and a joy to look at. He was donated to Dynamic Strides Therapy in the spring of 2017 in memory of a special child.

We Couldn’t Have Said It Better Ourselves

Dynamic Strides Therapy has an amazing way of disguising therapy as fun! We have had the therapy there for years ands absolutely LOVE it!! All of the staff and volunteers are so kind and genuinely care about every single child they serve! Dynamic Strides Therapy makes you feel like family, and I couldn't imagine going any other place!

Tiffany Eggleston Parent
I've volunteered at Dynamic Strides Therapy Riding for about six years. In that length of time I've seen some amazing things. Children gain strength in their core to be able to sit up better and hold their head up better & longer. Children gain balance. Some even speak more. The results are invaluable.

Jackie Gilkey Volunteer
My business partner and I were given the opportunity to observe the people at Dynamic Strides Therapy conduct a hippotherapy session with a patient. I will never forget it. I saw a young boy begin with great reluctance and assumed the session would end with everyone feeling exasperated and disappointed. Yet by the end of the session - thanks to the DST team's incredible patience and expertise - the young boy embraced the opportunity and he was beaming. His mother was kind enough to initiate a conversation and share the ways her son and family have benefited from hippotherapy. For me as an observer, it was an emotional and singular experience.

John Mack Partner at Brandigm, Corporate donor

Our Unique Facility

Occupational, physical and speech therapy services will be offered by experienced and talented pediatric therapists. Each therapist utilizing hippotherapy as a treatment strategy will be trained by the American Hippotherapy Association to ensure we are incorporating the most up-to-date techniques. Our nearly 24,000 square-foot facility will house an indoor arena, a therapy clinic with private treatment rooms, a viewing room for parents and a sensory gym, the only resource of its kind in the Springfield region.
Hippotherapy

Starting at the west end of the building, we have 7 stalls. In this area, the horses are groomed and prepped for hippotherapy sessions. Then the horses are lead into our extraordinary indoor, climate-controlled arena. This space will allow us to treat children year-round using hippotherapy techniques. Large windows will provide natural light as well as air-flow throughout the arena. Strategically placed video cameras will allow the patient’s therapist to document and monitor progress throughout the course of treatment.
Our spacious clinic

A unique feature of our facility will be a viewing/waiting area situated between the arena and therapy clinic, providing parents with a comfortable setting to watch their children’s therapy sessions. Our spacious clinic will provide a fun, engaging environment for therapy sessions. If a quieter setting is needed, there will be smaller, private treatment rooms available.
sensory gym

Treatment options will be enhanced with our fully-equipped sensory gym. This area is designed to provide children of all abilities with a space to explore safe sensory play. Equipment in the gym will consist of various types of swings, a rock wall, large ball pit, zip line, climbing equipment and an infant play area. We are also excited to open the sensory gym to the public during designated hours in the future.

Check out our Facility

Make a Dynamic Contribution

A donation today can transform a child’s life. Your contribution will go directly toward improving facilities and equipment, caring for our beloved horses and enhancing the quality of care we provide for our patients.

Donate